The commotion outside the guild office was far from the ordinary days. A crowd had gathered some distance away, near the stairs that led up to the royal palace. Workers busily carried an abundance of items, loading them onto horse-drawn carts that formed a line
"Eh, is it that time already? Sooner than last month." Soran overheard a lone adventurer woman standing by the main road. As Soran approached, he unintentionally startled her when he placed his hand on her shoulder, despite his footsteps should have signaled his presence. "Oh, I'm sorry... I thought you were someone else," she stammered, realizing it was Soran.
"No need to apologize. I didn't mean to startle you," Soran nonchalantly replied, not betraying any emotion. "You mentioned something earlier... could you enlighten me about those horse-drawn carts and the gathering crowd?"
"You're new here, so it's understandable that you're unaware," she replied. "Those carts are carrying various spoils to another city... you could say they're the taxes paid by Eldoria to the royal nobles," she continued, her tone tinged with discontent. "Sadly, it's the hard-earned toil of the commoners here."
Though Soran had only arrived in town a few days ago, his mission was to delve into the depths of Eldoria. The woman's words proved to be a valuable addition to his knowledge bank.
Upon further examination, it became evident just how taxing this process was on the workers. With a steep incline to the royal palace and no form of machinery, they were forced to rely solely on their physical strength to carry buckets, boxes, and various other items. Meanwhile, guards and supervisors stood by the stairs, ready to crack their whips if anyone slowed down.
The woman voiced her frustration, murmuring, "I wonder who among the players will get the secret quest to bring change to this dreadful place." Realizing what she had said, she quickly retracted her statement by saying, "Ah, forget what I just said, sir. By the way, you just reported a quest, right? Well, lucky you. I've been struggling to find party members myself."
After checking the woman's status and confirming that she was below level 20, Soran understood why no players in Eldoria would want to party with her. However, he believed that their decision was flawed. "Despite your current class?" he inquired.
As if encouraged, the woman covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled softly. "Haha, do you really believe that? Experience speaks for itself. But no, adventurers prefer bringing potions over me."
Many aspects of the game were strictly regulated by the guild, such as party listings, which quests could be taken, and reporting the items obtained. Ultimately, it all boiled down to the difficulty that the players faced in the virtual world. Fighting monsters required a more comprehensive level of adaptation because they were no longer simply pressing a button or moving a joystick.
The most straightforward path to overcome this challenge was to deal damage, making support classes less sought-after unless they had their own dedicated circle. This situation was true both here and in Soran's last timeframe.
"I'm sorry to hear about the tough situation you're facing," Soran tried to console her.
"Hehe, it's alright. I know some people at the cathedral, and Master Aldric guided me to take a different quest route."
"Aldric... the Guild Master?" Soran asked inquisitively, maintaining his stoic expression. He already knew that Aldric was one of the Eldoria Monarchs, in charge of everything happening in the guild. However, Soran needed different information.
"Since today is tax delivery day, there's a high possibility Master Aldric is at the royal palace," the woman confirmed.
While the horse-drawn carriages carrying goods passed by, Soran and the woman still engaged in a casual conversation on the side of the main road. Their dialogue continued uninterrupted, mainly due to Soran's attempt to make the woman speak without raising suspicion. It wasn't entirely Soran's effort, everything that occurred was a collaborative effort.
"Well, it's beginning to get dark, and I have to excuse myself because I have something to attend to, Sir Soran," the woman said. "I am sorry for wasting your time with my dull stories."
Soran returned the woman's smile, and they bid each other farewell as if they had known each other for more than a few minutes. Soran's smile deviated slightly from the persona he was portraying, revealing a genuine moment.
"Hmm... You seem to be enjoying yourself," Lumine commented, swiftly wiping the fleeting smile from Soran's face. "We should go now. He's waiting for us tonight at that place."
Adorned in his pouting, Soran kept his lips sealed to prevent any accidental murmurs. What he heard was what resided in his mind. If he suddenly started talking to himself, it would draw unnecessary attention.
The day had turned to dusk, and the streetlights had turned on, casting a dim light around. The town's buzz hadn't abated, if anything, it had increased as the commoners made their way home before facing another taxing day of work ahead.
It didn't take too long to circle around the guild building. This was where everybody came to collect their prizes once they had reported their quests inside. The receptionist was a man who offered no greeting other than a monotonous flat expression. "Your quest sheet?" the receptionist asked flatly.
Resting his shoulders against the bench, perhaps with his legs stretched out through the gaps in the counter, the receptionist perused through the document Soran handed over. While there appeared to be nothing unusual about it, the process took a bit longer than usual. "Is there... something amiss?" Soran enquired.
"Hmm... these drop items... there should have been other spawn monsters in your area, but only a few made it onto the list."
"Well, my main task was not about those trivial monsters. I have what I require, plus a bit extra, if you consider the minimum requirement," Soran replied, attempting to elevate his status slightly.
"Hmp! Our rewards don't increase for exceeding the minimum requirement," the receptionist snapped back sarcastically. "As usual... bonuses without an equipment list, I assume? Well, that's it. Now please leave my sight."
Soran had received the quest completion notification and the promised prize. The bonuses were diverse, but his many years of the game's experience immediately inform that Eldoria's players were getting an abnormally high amount of experience from just an early game quest. It was reasonable why Eldoria's players had higher levels and better equipment than the players from their nearest initial town, Lemuria. If in wartime scenarios, it was easy to infer who would have the upper hand.